Condenser for steamships



Feb. 24, 1931. H. F. SCHMIDT 1,793,641

CONDENSER FOR STEAMSHIPS Filed May 18, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet. 1

ATTORNEY Feb. 24, 1931. H. F. SCHMIDT CONDENSER FOR smmsmrs 3 Sheets-Sheet, 2

Filed May 18, 1926 4-, H.F.Schmidt lNVENTOR ATTORN EY Feb.24, 1931. H. F. SCHMIDT CONDENSER FOR STEAMSHIPS Fild May 18, 1926 s Sheets-Sheet. 5

HJ". Schmidlt INVENTOR ATTORNEY reamed Feb. 24,1931

Hit-Nays. son'iurnr; 01F; erisnovjivnf rja ixinsv-tvanm, assrea a To" wnsrmenousn rntnornro e iueiiuraer'uaiive' contrasts, A ooe rosri'rio qor rnivrzrsvnvarira H connnnsnaron s'rnniusnrrs 'A plilication filed my 18,1926. serial no; 109,949.

My 'inve ntion' relates to marine power systems, particularly to power systems embodying steam turbines and condensers and ithas for an object to provide apparatus of the character designated which shall be'extremely compact in design and efficient in operation.

These and other objects, which will be made apparent throughoutthe further description of my'invention, may be obtained by the employment of .t-hjfiPPil-IfitU-S hereinafter described and illustrated in "the accompanying drawings in which:

Flg. 1 isa plan view-of oneform ofpower system arranged in accordance withmy invention;

Fig. 2 is a'partial'transverse, sectional viewtaken on tl1e'line"II-II of Fig. 1';

Fig; 3 is axlongitudin'al elevation showing the inboard portion of the power system'illus' trated in'Fig. l; and, Y

F'g. 4' 'is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line Il -IV of Fig. 2. 1 v g It is generally appreciated in power plant practice-that it is highly desirable, from drainagstandpoint, to place the turbine at a higher elevation than the condenser to which it exhausts and, in most stationary power plants, the turbine is mounteddirectlyover the condenser for this reason. 'ltsz ils'o desirable that the, condensate be removed at as high a. temperature as possible and that the air and noncondensable gases be removed at as low a temperatureas possible'in order that, in the first instance, all possible heat may be conserved and, in the second instance, that the amount of energy required for re-- moving the air and non cond'ensa-ble gases be reducedto minimum. a

Wliileit has been possible-'heretoiore to arrange a power system for stationary plants I that would embody all of the'aforementioi'ied conditions, nevertheless this has not beengena erally possible in marineinstallations. This has been due principally to the fact that cen 'lensers, as heretoforeconstruote'd, were necessarily of such depth: that mounting a the,

bine upon them caused the turbine to T313510 cated'at such-arelatively high elevation as to necessitate an undesirable downward inclination of'the ships-propell'i and line shaftin a-g It "has, asla. consequence, been the" general practice to locate the condenser by the side of the'turbine in order that the turbine nay be disposed at a sufdciently low elevation to permit the shafting connectingthe propellerand the turbineto bedisposed in substan tially a horizontal plane. Such an arrangement how'every occupies considerable space and necessitates the use of'v'ery large and cumbersome exhausttrunks for connecting the turbine to' the condenser. All of the foregoing difliculties are overcome by my invention in which the condenser is made relatively Wide and shallow and located extremely low in the ship. This is. accomplished by supporting the condenser directly upon the ships structure and having its lowerportion conformingin contour sub- 3 stantially with that of the ship.s lines. The condenser is so arranged thatthe upperfshell portion extends horizontally inboard from the side of the ship, forming With'the lower shell portion a tube nest deepening as'it'approaches inboard. The turbine elements are then'mou'nted directly on this upper horizon- 1 tal shell portion of the condenser so that the comprise, may besupported directly upon.

the condenser. As the latter isjmade so-as to conform to the ship s-structure, itmay be located unusually low in the ship; and thetur bines are consequently disposed at such and; atively low elevation as to permit the shafting connectingthepropeller and thetjurbi'nes to be disposed in: substantially a horizontal plane this way very etlectiveiturbine drainageisassured. I

Iprefer to :so arrange the. various; turbine elements on the top of'the condenser that the 1 -lowpressureelement or the eleiiientseXhaust-- ingi the'retoja'r'e located inboard. above the .deepestportion of the condenser. Byimeans" of such an arrangement, the air otitake may be located at the outboard or shallow portion of the condenser where it is disposed at a maximum distance from the en'haust inlet. On the other hand, I prefer to locatethe condensato outlet in the inboard or deeperportion or" the condenser close to the exhaust inlet in order that the temperature of the condensate may approach the temperature of the exhaust steam as'closely as possible. In viewof the factthat my entire condenser must be made relatively shallow, I arrange the tube nest in a novel manner in order to provide a large distributing space as well as a large entrance area for the exhaust steam.

Reterringnow to the drawingsfor a more complete description of my invention, 1 show in Fig. 1 a power installation comprising a ships structure 10 within which is disposed a cross-compound turbine embodying aihighpressure element 11 and a low-p essureele' ment 12, said high-pressure element 11 on hausting into the low-pressure element 12 through a conduit 13. The turbine elements 11 and 12 are arranged to drive a smgle pro peller shaft 1a through a suitable lBClLlCiZlUlt gear 15 and they are mounted'or supported upon a condenser 16. Circulating water 18 delivered to the condenser 16 by what is znown as the scoop method, the water entering through an inlet lS whioh may project through the shios structure and connect with a suitable water box 130)? the condenser. \Vater leaves the condenser through a water 110x22 which connects with an overboard discharge pipe 23, the pipe 23 being arranged to pass under the casing of the reduction gear 15. d hilc I have shown my'condensor as being of a type adapted to be supplied with ater by the scoop system, nevertheless, it is apparent that the condenser may be readily supplied with water by circulating pumps in the usual manner. p

Referringnow particularly to Fig. 2, the condenser is somewhat of a right-triangular shape in crosssection with the longer side of its shell portion, shown at 26, conforming substantially with the contour of the ships structure. The upper side of the shell porion, shown at 27, extends horizontally and is connected to the lship s structure and tothe shell portion 26. In the present arrangement the upper horizontal shell portion 27 serves as a foundation'or-base plate forall at the turbine elements. The condenser shell is completed by a vertically disposedshell portion 28 which definesthe deeper portion of the tube nest. As shownin' llig. 3, the shell portion 28 serves as a supporting struc- "are for the inboard and of the condenser, it being firmly secured to the structureof the ship and provided with suitable stifiening members 29. The lower shell portion 26'is connected to the vertical shell' portion as shown at 30.

The low-pressure turbine element 12 is supported upon the inboard or deeper portion of the condenser, the exhaust steam beingad- 'mittedto the condenser through the inlet 31,"

shown in Fig; 2. The high-pressure turbine element i supportedupon the outboard or shallow portion of the condenser. In order to provide the required supporting strength for both-of these turbine elements, I prefer t-opro'vide within the condenser alongitudi nally extending girder 32 which is disposed between the upper horizontal shell portion 27 and the lower shell portion 26. Disposed beneath the girder 32 are suitable bearing pads 33 which rest upon proper seatings 34 secured to the ships structure. Thegirder 32 is provided, as shown particularly in Fig. efiwith suitable openings 35 tor-permitting communication between the inboard and outboard. portions of the condenser.

While Ihave'shown one form of girder for. stiilening the condenser and for supporting the various turbine elements, nevertheless it" will be understood that it is within the purview of my invent-ion'to provide anynumber or type of internal supporting members as may be required by the typeor size of turbines which it is proposed to support upon the condenser. 2 r r Disposed in the outboard portion of the condenser, at a remote distance from the exhaust inlet 31, is an air and non-condensable gas outlet 36. Suitable baflles 41 are interposed between the exhaust inlet 31 and the air outlet 36 in order to produce-a tortuous. passage for the gases inorder that they may be cooled toas low a temperature as possible before passing through the outlet 36.

The condensate outlet is located at 37in. the inboard or deeperportion of the condenser and is so arranged that it'is in contact with the entering steam in order that the temperature of the condensate may be maintained at ashigh a temperature as possible. A suitable condensate removal conduit 38 is provided which is arranged in the wellknownmanner so as to maintain a liquid seal in order that gases which have not been condensed may not escape from the condenser.

Arranged within the condenser .16 is a tube nest 39 which completely fills the outboard or shallow portion ofthe condenser but which is so arranged as to have its inboard portion only partly filled, the contour of the tube Steam'exhausted from the low-pressure 12 enters the condenser ent. turbine element through the exhaust inlet 31 wherein the in-' clinedarrangement of tubes gives avlarge distributingspace and large entrance area between the tubes. The steam is drawn past are at a very low temperature.

V the tubes toward the air outlet .36, the steam in its passage going through the openings provided in the supporting, girder 32. In. its passage past the cooling tubes, the steam is condensed and drains downwardly to the.

lower portion of the condenser to the condensate outlet 37. As the condensate outlet 7 37 is so arranged as to be in the vicinity of the inlet 31, the condensate assumes a tempera-'1 ture which closely approaches that of the entering steam, a very desirable feature. The air and non-condensable gases are drawn to the outboard end of the condenser and pass through the outlet 36, their path of travel being extended by the baffles 41.

It is, therefore, evident that by means of such an arrangement, the condensate leaving the condenser is at a maximum temperature while the air and non-condensable gases Furthermore, as all of the turbine elements, not only the low-pressure element, but the high-pressure element as well, are located above the condenser, perfect drainage of the entire turbine is assured at all times. Furthermore,

as the condenser is made to conform to the contour of the ships structure, it occupies a minimum amount of space and it may be made so shallow that the turbines may be disposed at approximately the same horizontal elevation as the propeller. In addition, the condenser structure serves both as a shell for the condenser and as a foundation for the turbine elements. The entire powersystem therefore occupies a minimum amount of space, 1s of lesser weight than the systems denser comprising a shell having a substantially horizontal upper portion for supporting a turbine installation, another portion of said shell being curved to substantially conform to the shape of the bottom and of the ide of the ship, said horizontal and said curved portions of said shell being arranged to provide a relatively shallow condensing chamber, a longitudinally extending supportmg member secured to said horizontal and o said curved portions of said shell for assisting in supporting the turbine installation, said supporting member having openings therein to permit the passage of gaseous media therethrough, heattransfer tubes within the'shell and on each side of thesupporting member; and me'ans fon slid ably s p porting the shell" on the structure of" the ship at- 'aoints 'directly beneath the longitudinally: extending supporting.memberai: 2 Y r 2.111 a-marmeunstallation; a; surface con= dei i's'er comprising a shell: hav ng a substam tially horizontal upper-portion forsupport in g a' turbine installation,"another portion of said' sh'ellbeing curved' to substantially conform to'theshape offthe bottom and .o-f the side of the ship, said horizontal and" said curved portions'of saidshellbeing arrangec l to pfrov ide a' relatively 1 shallow condensing chamber, alongitudinally eX t-endin'gsupport' lug-member secured to saidhorizontal and SflI to said curved portions of' said shell for as sisting-in supporting the turbine installation,

said supporting member having openings therein f to Peri-Tilt" the passage of gaseous media the'rethrough', heat transfer tubeswithinthe' shell andoneach side of the support ing member; ne'ans' for securing the shell to the ship at'the inboard and at theoutboard sides of said shell, andmeans for slid'ably supporting the-shell on fthe' structure of the ship at points directly beneath thel'ongiv tudinally extending supporting 1 member.

In a marine installation, acondenser adapted to be' connected to a turbineelementl andto support a plurality ofturbine' ele' nients, said condenser havingits lower por tion conforming in shape substantially "to the'ships structure, the ",.inboard animus board ends of the con'denser b'eing"securedto the structure of the 3 ship, a supporting member provided within the condenserbe 'v tiveen the inboard and' ou tboa'rd endsfand means for slidably supporting I said member F upon the structureoftheshipf 4. In a condenserdisposed'in-a ships structure, the combination of a condenser shell structure having a'top embodyinga turbinesupporting portion and embodying, inlet means for the admission of turbin'e exhaust gases, saute-nest, disposed "within the" shell structure,-'and a structural member supported uponthef'ships structure extending through the interior of the cbndenser shell T between'tlie-ends'of the tube nest and engag ing the top of the shell structure, said stru'c tural member forming an internal bracing member for the shell structure and a means for supporting the turbine supporting portion of the shell structure directly from the ships structure.

5. In a condenser disposed in a ships structure, the combination of a condenser shell structure having a top embodying a turbine supporting portion and embodying inlet means for the admission of turbine exhaust gases, a tube nest disposed within the shell structure, and a structural member supported upon the ships structure and extending upwardly through the interior of the shell structure between portions of the tube nest and connecting Withthe turbine supporting portion of the condenser shell structure, said structural member forming an internal bracing member for the condensershell structure and a means. for supporting the turbine supporting portion of the shell'structure directly from the ships structure.

6. In a condenser in a ships structure, the

combination ofa condenser shell structure. .having top and bottom wall, portions, said bottom wall portion being disposed adjacent to the ships structureand said top wall portion embodying a turbine supporting portion and also embodying inlet means for the admission of turbine exhaust gases, a tube nest disposed in the shell structure, a structural member disposed interiorly of the con-r denser shell structure intermediate of the ends of the tube nest and extending ,between the top and bottom wall portions, and means for supporting the condenser shell structure 7 from the ships structureand including a member supported .upon the ships structure and engaging the exterior of the condenser shell structure'adjacent tothe interiorly disposed structural member, 7 a p 7. In a condenser in a ships structure, the combination of a condenser shell structure having upper and lower wall portions, said lower wall portion being disposed adjacent to the ships structure and said upper wall portion embodying a turbine supporting por tion and embodying inlet meansfor the ad mission of turbine exhaust gases, a tubenest extending in a fore-and-aft direction within the condenser shell structure, and meansfor supporting the condenser from the shlps structure and including a structure extending I vertically upward from-the sh ps structure and projecting through the condenser shell structure and engaging the turbine supporting portion of the upper wall portion, said vertically-extending structure being dis posed in a fore-and-aft direction and having portions of the tube nest arranged on both the inboardand outboard sides thereof.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 13th day of May, 1926.

HENRY F. SCHMIDT. 

